Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t think I’m suggesting that government comes up and adapt a whole new software program to address this. I’m talking about the network of people who are required to actually sit in front of the computer and enter these numbers or whatever they have to do to put the process in place and data in place to get the software to do whatever it has to do. A lot of people who are not having to do that right now don’t want to experience the kind of stories they are hearing from other people who are having to spend a lot of time dealing with it. So until...

I don’t know. These software problems. Mr. Speaker, could I just ask the Minister to make a commitment to either make a statement in this House to confirm that he’s going to do this, when he’s going to do it so that I have something in writing, or he could write me a letter so that I could have a commitment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of Transportation. It’s in regards to something that I have been working on with his department and it has to do with the driver's licence. Mr. Speaker, lots of coverage has been made in the issue. The new format, while it’s very good and very needed, and it takes up security questions, but it doesn’t have the system in place to accommodate long names. I know that department…and people could have all kinds of reasons for having long names. My constituent, in particular, has four names she was given by birth and she...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the last few years, we seem to begin the first day of each session with an active ongoing labour dispute. Today seems to be no exception, Mr. Speaker. During the lunch hour, I had a chance to meet and talk to the employees from the Trailcross group home in Fort Smith who flew here in large numbers in order to make their cases known, their voices heard and to highlight their issues and the importance of resolving this labour dispute.

Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, if past example is anything to go by, all labour disputes that have come to our attention in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this being the last day of the session before August, I would like to take a moment to highlight the activities of the Range Lake North School and Range Lake constituency.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Grade 6 boys and girls soccer teams who took both banners in the recent Super Soccer tournament. I would also like to take a moment to recognize the work of Range Lake North School Parents Advisory Group who has completed another successful family fun night a few weeks ago. This is a one night event where they raise over $10,000. They have...

Most importantly, if we don’t do this, we are increasing the chance of Nunavut going ahead with the port in Keewatin. Mr. Speaker, surely Members would not think that it’s better off for North Slave to not have a bridge and make it favourable for Nunavut. So, Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the philosophy and the pretext of this motion because it does not do what I think we all should do, which is get behind this bridge 1,000 percent because it’s going to benefit us and it’s going to cost less doing it this way than any other way and this is the best time to do it than any other time we...

But, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you, I have been through many, many briefings where the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and the Community Alliance sees this as a great opportunity for them to partake in all the activities that are going on in North Slave area that they have not been able to take advantage of. They’re not near the diamond mines, they’re not near anywhere in the pipeline corridor, this is going to be a P3 partnership project where they will be able to get some profit out of this so that they can spend that money to invest in their communities. Anybody who questions about the value of...

Mr. Speaker…Mr. Speaker, let me conclude by saying, if I may, if I may conclude by saying…

That’s what governments do. Governments build schools, they build hospitals, they build roads. We don’t always ask what’s in it for us in terms of profit. These are public infrastructure and governments are supposed to do that.

Mr. Speaker, for anybody to say that we are sort of putting this in the front of the queue at the expense of another, has not done enough research. Mr. Speaker, people out there expect us to act on some of the things. This has been on the books for eight years. I will submit to you, Mr. Speaker, this is one of the rare projects that actually went through a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think there is a need for the government to do more and do everything we can to create job opportunities for summer students while they are here. It enhances their work experience as well as giving them extra resources that they could use to go to school, which his very important. Could I ask the Minister to vamp it up a little bit and get more proactive and ask the departments to look for opportunities. If they have money in the budget to spend, if they could create jobs to make sure as many students are hired as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.